Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.
In this instalment I spoke to Justin D. Hill about his latest 40k novel, Cadian Honour, which was released in ebook over Christmas but is now available in hardback too. It’s available to order right now, so check out the interview and then head out and grab a copy of the book!
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Justin’s answers.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Cadian Honour?
Justin D. Hill: What does it mean to be a Cadian now that you have failed at your 10,000 year mission… and how can you prove it?
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
JH: Minka Lesk is the Cadian who starts Cadia Stands (‘She is four. It is time to learn….’) now grown up, and still reeling from the fall of the Cadian Gate. She’s the pivotal character, and the face of the book – one of the best BL covers I’ve seen – which is awesome!
Cardinal Xereum is a good man in a bad place. Rudgard Howe is a brutal Chief of Security. There are some broken Cadians and a commissar with a bolt pistol and an itchy finger. The Praetorians get a showing, and there’s the Cadian General Bendikt – a man struggling to come to terms with the legacy of Ursarkar E. Creed.
And – Lindsey Priestley assures me – this novel has the first real insight into the inner mind of a Frateris Militiaman.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
JH: It’s set in the years following the Fall of the Cadian Gate, on a back-water systems known as the Gallows Cluster, that with shifting warp routes, is now on the front line. And the new attention is largely unwelcome to the locals….
ToW: Is there anything that you’d recommend readers check out before reading this?
JH: I think this is being envisaged as the first Minka Lesk novel so you could go straight in, but if you want to get the full setting then reading Cadia Stands gives you the set up. And if you really like stories of common grunts facing down all the horrors of the 40K universe, then there’s a ream of Ursarkar E. Creed stories (you can find here) which I think have been hugely well received.
ToW: Of all the Cadian stories you could have told, in the wake of the Great Rift and the Fall of Cadia, what made you pick this particular narrative?
JH: Cadia Stands was an attempt to capture a planet-wide battle within one narrative, focusing mainly on a city fight setting. With Cadian Honour I wanted something different – to use a Guard story to flesh out the wider implications to the rest of the Imperium of the Fall of Cadia. The cast is a microcosm of all that’s going on in the Imperial post-Cicatrix Maledictum. When the Cadian 101st arrive on Potence they think they’re getting a cushy deal.
ToW: What appeals to you about Cadians as characters to write about?
JH: The Cadians held the Cadian Gate for thousands of years, and now it has fallen. ON THEIR WATCH. That’s a huge mental wrench. They have failed, and now they have to make it up, and that’s impossible, because the Imperium has been torn into two.
ToW: What were your main influences when writing this?
JH: With any Imperial Guard novels you’re starting in Dan Abnett’s shadow. And Dan is one of the toughest acts to follow. But away from 40K, I wanted to play with a George RR Martin way of telling the story. He has a large cast of disparate characters who allow him to show all the facets of a story. It’s an interesting style to read and write as you are really immersed into the present moment and challenges of each viewpoint character, but it also allows you to keep the pace of the novel sprinting along…
ToW: How does the final product compare to your original concept? Has anything changed much from your first ideas?
JH: I think this one came out pretty much as planned. It’s the first one I’m thinking at publication: YES! – this is what I wanted to write and I’ve done it.
I had a bit longer to write it, I had some input on the cover, and I wanted to cover new ground. I was honoured that it was also Lindsey Priestley’s last book she worked on before she retired and she had some great feedback on all the main characters. You should care about them all. And care about what happens to them.
ToW: How does this story compare to the rest of your work? Do you feel like your Black Library-writing style has changed or developed since Cadia Stands, for example?
JH: I learnt a lot writing Cadia Stands, and then getting feedback from readers. I’ve been a part of the 40K community since the game came out, and one of the great things about this community is that it’s close enough that you can easily find out what people want/like from forums and social media, podcasts etc. And this time I was working with my own characters. And this was a second time round for them. That really helped with planning the novel.
One of my main problems before was that I couldn’t write fast enough. It was a real struggle to get the books to a place I wanted them to be in time. But I had a bit longer with Cadian Honour and I think that shows. I’m really happy with it.
ToW: What do you hope 40k fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
JH: Apart from action and interesting characters, and insights into a new part of the Gallows Cluster, I wanted to go super Grimdark with this novel. No happy endings. No sense of redemption. Grim Grimdark.
ToW: Are you planning more Cadian/Minka stories after this, or is this the last we’ll see of them from you?
JH: Abso-frekking-lutely! In fact, I just spent a couple of hours in Bugman’s Bar thrashing out a cracking follow up to this novel that’ll be a first, I think, in terms of the enemy the Cadians are facing. It’ll be everything that Cadian Honour was and wasn’t, and more. And it’ll allow me to keep adding to the Gallows Cluster as a setting.
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Massive thanks to Justin for taking the time to answer these questions! If you’d like to know more about Cadian Honour, check out my review right here.
Click this link to order Cadian Honour, or this one for the audiobook version.
Click here if you fancy taking a look at some other Rapid Fire interviews. If you’ve got any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.